Jim Upton has been installing tile for nearly 30 years and has worked in the construction/remodeling field since 1990.
Insistent on learning everything the hard way he decided to forego formal training and jump into the tile trade headfirst.
After learning a good number of lessons by trial and error he eventually went to work for other contractors where he was able to work alongside more experienced installers and learn a variety of methods and techniques he wouldn’t have been exposed to otherwise.
Eight years later, at the beginning of the housing bust, he created a new tile contracting company, Tiger Mountain Tile Inc, based out of Issaquah Washington.
It was at this point that he doubled-down on learning proper industry standards and methods. He put himself through product trainings, industry classes, and started attending national methods and standards meetings. Resultantly, he considers himself a true tile nerd.
James Upton’s education and is a CTEF certified installer, NTCA member and Ambassador, Wedi PRO Certified installer, and has taken product-specific training from Schluter Systems, Laticrete International, Custom Building Products, Ardex Americas, and NTCA training for Gauged Porcelain Tile Panels.
- CTEF Certified Tile Installer
- NTCA member and ambassador
- Wedi PRO Certified Installer
- Product- specific education and training includes:
- Ardex
- Custom Building Products
- Laticrete
- Schluter
- Wedi
- NTCA training for gauged porcelain tile panels
- NTCA training for large format tile and surface prep
- CTEF Certified Tile Inspector 5-day course
- Voting member of the NTCA’s technical committee which writes and edits the Reference Manual
He is also the creator of www.DIYTileGuy.com a tile blog for the DIY community.
When he gets a break from tile he enjoys a bit of travelling and the outdoors.
